Moussaka
Moussaka is a delicious lasagna-style dish from Greece. It layers potatoes and eggplant with a tomato based meat sauce, as well as a white sauce, then is topped with cheese. Lamb and cinnamon come together in traditional Greek flavors. It is so good!
Servings: 6 Servings
Calories: 646kcal
Ingredients
- 2 large potatoes or 4 small
- 2 medium eggplants
- salt
- 1 large zucchini
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
For the Meat Sauce
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup onion diced, from 1 medium, or 1/2 large onion
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 pound ground lamb
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 cinnamon sticks or 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 15-oz can diced tomatoes undrained
- 1/4 cup red wine or 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- salt to taste
For white sauce
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/4 cup flour
- 2 cups milk divided
- 2/3 cup parmesan cheese or grated kefalotyri
- pinch nutmeg
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Peel the potatoes and boil them whole, until they are just tender. When cool, slice into 1/4 inch rounds and set aside.
- Slice the eggplants crosswise into 1/2 inch rounds and spread on a baking sheet or cutting board lined with paper towels. Sprinkle generously with salt on both sides, then top with another baking sheet weighted down with books, your cat, a giant bag of protein powder, whatever you've got. You just need to squeeze out all that eggplant-y water. Set aside for about 15 minutes. Preheat your broiler.
- Pat the eggplant slices with paper towel to remove as much moisture as possible. Rinse under running water, and dry once again.
- Slice zucchini into 1/4 inch rounds. Toss zucchini and eggplant slices on baking sheet with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, then arrange in a single layer. (I needed a couple baking sheets to fit everything.) Broil on highest oven rack for 6 minutes, or until slightly charred, then flip slices and repeat on the other side. Set pan aside.
- Make the meat sauce: Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and cook until translucent, then add garlic and cook for 1 minute, or until fragrant. Add ground lamb and cook until browned, stirring often and breaking up the meat. Stir in tomato paste and cook 1 minute, then stir in diced tomatoes and red wine, or red wine vinegar. Add the bay leaves, cinnamon sticks, and cloves. Reduce heat to low and simmer, about 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Make the white sauce: Melt butter over medium heat in a medium saucepan. Stir in flour and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly (reduce heat if necessary; you want to cook out the starch, not brown it). Whisk in 1/4 cup of the milk until fully incorporated, then very slowly whisk in the remaining milk. Stir frequently until sauce is thickened. Slowly sprinkle in cheese and stir to combine. Season to taste with salt and nutmeg. Remove from heat, or leave it on low and stir occasionally.
- Assemble the moussaka: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large 9x13 casserole dish, arrange the bottom layer with half of the charred eggplant and zucchini slices. Spread all the meat sauce over top. Add the rest of the eggplant and zucchini, then layer the potato slices. Pour the white sauce over top. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until bubbly and browned.
Notes
You can make this a day ahead of time and store covered in the refrigerator for 24 hours. It might take a few more minutes to bake. I made the white sauce and the meat sauce ahead of time, that worked great too.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cup | Calories: 646kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 41g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 18g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 91mg | Potassium: 1419mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 707IU | Vitamin C: 41mg | Calcium: 302mg | Iron: 4mg